Natural Digestive Enzymes: What They Are, Benefits, and How to Get It

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D igestive enzymes are proteins that help your body digest food and absorb nutrients. Digestive enzymes are made by your own body, mainly by the pancreas. However, there are also some foods that contain natural digestive enzymes that can help your digestion.

In this post, we will explain what natural digestive enzymes are, what are their types and sources, what are the benefits and risks of consuming them, and how to get them easily and cheaply.

What are Natural Digestive Enzymes?

Natural digestive enzymes are digestive enzymes that come from food, not from your own body. Natural digestive enzymes can help your body break down hard-to-digest foods, such as fats, proteins, or carbohydrates. They can also improve nutrient absorption and reduce uncomfortable digestive symptoms, such as bloating, gas, or diarrhea.

Natural digestive enzymes usually come from fermented foods, such as yogurt, kefir, kimchi, or tempeh. Fermented foods are foods that have been transformed by bacteria, mold, or yeast. The fermentation process can increase the content of natural digestive enzymes in the food.

Natural digestive enzymes can also come from certain fruits, such as pineapple, papaya, or kiwi. These fruits contain natural digestive enzymes called proteases, which are enzymes that break down proteins into amino acids. Proteases can help digest proteins that come from meat, eggs or milk.

What are the Types and Sources of Natural Digestive Enzymes?

There are three main types of natural digestive enzymes, namely:

• Amylase: An enzyme that breaks down carbohydrates into simple sugars. Natural sources of amylase include honey, bananas, wheat and potatoes.
• Lipase: Enzymes that break down fats into fatty acids and glycerol. Natural sources of lipase include avocados, olives, cheese and nuts.
• Protease: Enzymes that break down proteins into amino acids. Natural sources of protease include pineapple, papaya, kiwi and fermented foods.

Apart from the three types of natural digestive enzymes above, there are also some other natural digestive enzymes that are specific to certain foods, such as:

• Lactase: An enzyme that breaks down lactose, a sugar found in milk and dairy products. Natural sources of lactase include yogurt, kefir, and other fermented milks.
• Sucrase: An enzyme that breaks down sucrose, a sugar found in fruits and vegetables. Natural sources of sucrase include cane sugar, beet sugar, and coconut sugar.
• Cellulase: Enzymes that break down cellulose, a fiber found in plant cell walls. Natural sources of cellulase include green vegetables, carrots, and apples.

What are the Benefits and Risks of Taking Natural Digestive Enzymes?

Taking natural digestive enzymes can provide several benefits to your digestive health, such as:

• Improves digestion and nutrient absorption. Natural digestive enzymes can help your body break down hard-to-digest foods, such as fats, proteins, or carbohydrates, and improve the absorption of nutrients derived from these foods. This can help prevent malnutrition or nutrient deficiencies.
• Reduces uncomfortable digestive symptoms. Natural digestive enzymes can reduce uncomfortable digestive symptoms, such as bloating, gas, or diarrhea, which can be caused by poorly digested food. This can help improve your quality of life.
• Prevent or treat certain digestive conditions. Natural digestive enzymes can prevent or treat certain digestive conditions, such as lactose intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, or exocrine digestive enzyme deficiency. This can help reduce complications or negative effects of these digestive conditions.

However, taking natural digestive enzymes can also pose some risks, such as:

• Causes allergic reactions. Some people may be allergic to foods that contain natural digestive enzymes, such as milk, eggs or nuts. Allergic reactions can include rashes, itching, shortness of breath, or anaphylactic shock. If you experience an allergic reaction, stop eating the food immediately and contact your doctor.
• Causes indigestion. Some people may not get along with foods that contain natural digestive enzymes, such as fermented foods, sour fruits, or spicy foods. Indigestion may include stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. If you experience indigestion, reduce the amount or frequency of eating these foods, or replace them with other foods that are more suitable for you.
• Causes interactions with medications. Some natural digestive enzymes may interact with certain medications, such as anticoagulants, diabetes medications, or gout medications. These interactions can increase or decrease the effects of these medications, which can be harmful to your health. If you are taking certain medications, consult your doctor before taking natural digestive enzymes.

How to Get Natural Digestive Enzymes?

There are several ways to get natural digestive enzymes, both from food and from supplements. Here are some tips that you can try:

• Eat foods that contain natural digestive enzymes. You can choose fermented foods, such as yogurt, kefir, kimchi, or tempeh, or certain fruits, such as pineapple, papaya, or kiwi. These foods can help your digestion by providing natural digestive enzymes that can break down hard-to-digest foods. However, make sure you are not allergic to these foods, and avoid foods that are too acidic, spicy, or gassy, which can cause irritation or bloating.
• Taking natural digestive enzyme supplements. If you feel that foods containing natural digestive enzymes are not enough to aid your digestion, or if you have certain digestive conditions that require additional digestive enzymes, you can take natural digestive enzyme supplements. Natural digestive enzyme supplements can be capsules, tablets, powders, or liquids, which contain natural digestive enzymes derived from animal, plant, or microbial sources. You can buy natural digestive enzyme supplements at pharmacies, health stores, or online. However, before taking natural digestive enzyme supplements, consult your doctor first, and follow the instructions for use stated on the product label.
• Increase your body's own production of natural digestive enzymes. Apart from getting natural digestive enzymes from outside, you can also increase your body's own production of natural digestive enzymes. There are several things you can do to stimulate your pancreas to produce more digestive enzymes, such as:
• Chew food properly. Chewing food well can help break down food into smaller particles, which can facilitate digestion. Chewing food well can also stimulate the production of saliva, which contains natural digestive enzymes, such as amylase. Try to chew your food at least 20 times before swallowing.
• Drink warm water with lemon. Drinking warm water with lemon can help increase the production of stomach acid, which can stimulate the pancreas to release digestive enzymes. Stomach acid can also help break down food in the stomach. Drink warm water with lemon before or after meals, or on an empty stomach in the morning.
• Eat ginger. Ginger is a spice that has many health benefits, including for digestion. Ginger can help increase the production of digestive enzymes, reduce inflammation, and relieve nausea. You can consume ginger by making ginger tea, adding ginger to food, or chewing raw ginger.

Some Herb Recipe for better Enzymes

First recipe with cucmber and orange

Ingredient:

• 1 cucumber
• 1 orange
• Honey to taste
• Ginger as big as the tip of your pinky (if you have digestive problems)

Method:

Combine all the ingredients then add and puree in a blender, but don't make it too smooth, try to keep the cucumber still chewable to produce enzymes in the mouth area.

Second recipe with papaya and dates

• 1 Peeled papaya
• honey to taste
• shredded dates
• almonds
• non refined salt

Method:

Cut papaya into small pieces, mix with shredded dates and almonds, then sprinkle with non refined salt and honey.

Conclusion

Natural digestive enzymes are digestive enzymes that come from food, not from your own body. Natural digestive enzymes can help your digestion by breaking down hard-to-digest foods, such as fats, proteins, or carbohydrates. They can also improve nutrient absorption and reduce uncomfortable digestive symptoms, such as bloating, gas, or diarrhea.

You can get natural digestive enzymes from foods that contain natural digestive enzymes, such as fermented foods or certain fruits, or from natural digestive enzyme supplements, which you can buy at pharmacies, health stores, or online. You can also boost your body's production of natural digestive enzymes by chewing your food well, drinking warm water with lemon, or consuming ginger. In addition, the recipes I have shared above can strengthen enzymes naturally.

Taking natural digestive enzymes can benefit your digestive health, but it also comes with risks, such as allergic reactions, indigestion, or interactions with medications. If you want to take natural digestive enzymes, consult your doctor first, and follow the instructions for use stated on the product label.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/natural-digestive-enzymes

https://www.eatingwell.com/article/8041356/foods-high-in-digestive-enzymes/

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